By Sunday evening at Ryder Cups, as champagne is being sprayed all over the place, no one remembers what happened on the Friday morning. That’s the beauty of the Ryder Cup. The team is what matters.
American and European players were greeted with a friendly reminder prior to arriving in Haven, Wisconsin, that the bunkers – all 1,012 of them – at Whistling Straits will, indeed, be played as bunkers:
It’s the Ryder Cup’s dirty little secret. Apart from his picks and choosing the pairings and lineup order, course setup is a home captain’s most potent lever to influence the matches.
Team chemistry feels like an abstract concept, and defining what it is at the Ryder Cup is a bit of a paradox, for there’s not a universal explanation for what it is and how it’s achieved.
A throwaway comment by Rory McIlroy after he missed out on a bronze medal was worth its weight in gold as golf’s much talked-about acceptance in the Olympic Games was reinforced following two glorious weeks at Tokyo 2020.
In addition to giving Oakmont seven future championships, the USGA designated the course as the second US Open “anchor” site, along with Pinehurst Resort.